Lady Killer
by Kelly of the midnight dawn
Summary: Sequel to 'Trust Me'. A serial killer is targeting female cops. SVU is stumped and so they call in the help of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. Meanwhile, will Elliot's feelings interfere with his ability to do his job affectively? EO
1. Chapter 1: Sisters in Blue

**Lady Killer **

**Chapter 1: Sisters in Blue**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own SVU or Criminal Minds.**

**A/N: This is the sequel to "Trust Me" it is AU and begins a week before thanksgiving 2007. Olivia is eleven weeks pregnant. I hope I do all right writing the Criminal Minds characters. Please tell me what you think. Reviews are always appreciated and loved. Also, the alerts are still working the backlogged email out of the system I think so I don't know if anyone will receive the alert for this right away but I hope that you guys don't get too frustrated. Love ya all!**

"The sixth one this month," Elliot muttered as he knelt beside the body of a woman. This wasn't just any woman, this was a cop. She was the sixth female cop to be abducted, raped, tortured, murdered and dumped in a park in the last month. There was no doubt that SVU had a serial killer on their hands.

"ID says that she's Detective Denise Sawyer," Melinda said as she withdrew the badge from the now all too familiar hiding place. The sick freak would stuff their badges down their throats before he strangled them.

"From the 3-1?" Elliot asked. He had met Detective Sawyer once before at a bake sale at the twins' school. She had a daughter who was a year older than his youngest children. He remembered that she had been a warm and friendly person.

"I'll have the official cause of death for you when I get back to the morgue and perform the autopsy," Melinda said as one of her assistance helped her bag the body "By the way," she remarked, finally deciding to comment on the absence that she had noticed when Elliot first arrived "Where's Olivia?"

"She's on desk duty," Elliot answered her as he straightened up "They haven't found me a partner for in the field yet."

"Why would you need a new partner?" Melinda inquired "I thought that they'd run out of partners that would have you," she joked.

"Olivia's on desk duty for the next seven months give or take," Elliot told her "She's pregnant."

Melinda smiled softly at him "Congratulations," she turned and followed her assistant with the body.

Elliot stood there for a few moments longer. Even if Olivia hadn't been pregnant, he probably would have insisted that she stay at the station. He wasn't going to take any chances with her life. He finally pulled himself away from his thoughts and went up to one of the crime scene detectives to see if they had found any evidence that would help them finally catch this ass.

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"Denise Sawyer," Elliot pinned the woman's picture at the end of the long row on the evidence board "Patterns of bruising are almost identical to all the others."

"Did he leave anything at the scene this time?" Cragen asked.

"Nothing," Elliot sighed "The body was scrubbed clean and the fingernails were cut just like the others."

"He's messing with us," Olivia muttered as she propped her chin against her hand and stared at the evidence board with unmasked disgust for the man who had done this to her fellow sisters in blue "He's trying to say that he's smarter than us."

Elliot began to pace the squad room. He couldn't sleep at night these days; every time he closed his eyes he saw Olivia as one of this guy's victims. He hated this bastard. The victims had all been kidnapped and tortured for days on end before their bodies were discovered, naked in landfills around Manhattan. The son-of-a-bitch had no respect for the badge and even less respect for the women who carried it. He stopped in front of the evidence board again "We've gotta catch this guy before he strikes again," he murmured.

Cragen hung up his cell phone and turned to his detectives "It might be too late for that," he told them "We've got a report of another detective who's gone missing."

"Oh Lord," Olivia said softly. She wished that she could be out on the streets for this case but the tiny life growing inside her took precedence over everything else these days. Still she couldn't help feeling that if she was out there, she could make a difference "Who did he grab?" she asked.

"Warrants Detective Dani Beck," Cragen stated.

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"You should get some sleep," Olivia said as she put down the file she was looking through and looked across the desk at Elliot.

"You need sleep more than I do," he told her with a weak smile "You're sleeping for two remember?"

She laughed and stood up from her chair. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck "I remember," she whispered "I also remember who Dani was and that she means something to you. You're under a lot of stress Elliot. Take a couple hours and catch some sleep. Munch and Fin will find her."

Elliot looked up at his kind and far too understanding wife. He pulled her into his lap, glad that no one else was in the squad room to see this intimate exchange "She never meant as much to me as you do," he told her.

"She was your partner Elliot," Olivia said softly as she held him close to her "You would have to be a block of ice not to feel anything right now."

"I'm as worried about her as I am about all the others we've had go missing," he told her. He needed her to believe him when he said that Dani hadn't meant anything to him. He had only been partners with Dani for a couple months. He may have kissed her but he didn't love her. He was still worried about her and he felt guilty for that; he should only be concerned about his wife and shouldn't be concerned about any particular victim more than the others.

"But she's not just any victim," Olivia laid her head on Elliot's chest as exhaustion began to take over "She was your partner," she mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.

"Yes she was," he whispered as he stood from his chair, supporting his sleeping wife in his arms. He gently carried her upstairs and laid her on one of the cots. She had been working a lot longer than the doctor would probably be happy with and she had to do it without the aid of her usual twenty cups of coffee. He knew she was exhausted. He pulled the blanket over her and kissed her tenderly "But you're my wife. You mean more to me than anything," he straightened up and left the room. He went back downstairs to continue working. He felt safer just knowing that Olivia was sleeping at the station and not at home by herself.

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Olivia woke up a few hours later. She sat up and realized what had happened, she groaned. She had been trying to get Elliot to take a break and instead, she had been the one who ended up falling asleep. She couldn't help smiling to herself though about how well he took care of her. She got up and headed down to the squad room to try and return the favor.

She found him slumped over his desk, practically passed out. He was still the only person in the place. She tapped him lightly on the shoulder "Wake up sleepy head," she whispered in his ear.

Elliot sat up and groaned. He turned to Olivia "How long was I asleep?" he asked groggily.

"I don't know," she shrugged "I just got here," she walked to her desk and pulled her chair over beside Elliot's "Any luck?"

Elliot sighed "No. Munch and Fin haven't found any leads. This guy's left us nothing," he put his head in his hands. He wanted to be out there, on the streets, helping to find the guy but they hadn't found him someone to partner up with on field duty. He was only good for canvassing crime scenes with CSU and sitting at his desk into the wee hours of the morning and beyond, going over phone records and bank statements as he tried to find any connection between these women other than their profession.

"I'll take over down here," Olivia offered, standing up and moving her chair back to her desk then reaching back across to take the files that Elliot had been pouring over before he had fallen asleep "You should get some sleep in a position that doesn't cause pain."

He stretched his arms above his head. He seriously considered taking her up on her offer but only for a moment. He stood up and attempted to take the files back from her "I'll be fine," he tried to tell her; he was worried about her and the baby. He was positive that all the stress she was putting herself under wasn't good for either of them.

Olivia held the files out of his reach "You're exhausted Elliot," she couldn't believe that he was being so stubborn about this "Go get some sleep," she suddenly gasped and motioned him over to her side.

"What is it?" he asked frantically as he stood beside her "What's wrong?" every horrible possibility of what could be happening flashed through his mind. She could be hemorrhaging. She was only eleven weeks along; she could miscarry.

"Calm down," she smiled as she took his hand and placed it over the small swell that was easily hidden by her shirt "The baby's moving," she watched the relief wash over his face and then she watched as relief turned into pure amazement and almost childlike wonder.

Elliot had felt babies kick before but the sensation beneath his hand was always so amazing. He still couldn't believe that there was a little person growing in there. He looked at Olivia and smiled "He or she is strong."

"Just like his father," Olivia whispered as she leaned closer to her husband.

"Just like her mother," Elliot countered as he kissed her.

"Now go get some sleep," Olivia said when they finally separated "We're not going anywhere," she looked down at her stomach "Get some rest."

Elliot finally conceded "I'm trying to focus on the recently paroled sex offenders," he told her as she pushed him in the direction of the stairs.

"I know," she reminded him; after all, she had been there when he had started looking through the files ten hours ago.

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"Do you have anything for us?" Munch asked as he and Fin marched, exhaustedly into the morgue. Munch was hoping that Melinda had something useful to tell them this time. He and his partner were on their last legs trying to catch this guy. They had been on the street for the last ten hours, chasing down every person who had any contact with Dani or any of the other victims before their disappearances. They had come up empty every time.

"I wish I had good news for you," Melinda said as she pulled the sheet off of Denise Sawyer's body "Ligatures on wrists and ankles just like the others. Scrubbed clean; not a spec of foreign DNA on her. Strangled but not before she was put through hell," Melinda sighed heavily "She'd only been dead an hour or less when we found her."

"Anything under her fingernails?" Fin asked in the vein hope that maybe they would get lucky this time and the guy would have screwed up somehow.

"Cut to the quick," Melinda responded "Same as the others," Melinda Warner had seen many bodies come through the morgue and the only way she made it through the day was to keep a frosty, detached façade.

"Stomach contents?" Munch inquired.

"None," the bastard had kept these women for an average of three days and during that time, it didn't appear as though he had given them anything to eat or drink.

The two detectives sighed and turned to leave "Let us know if you find anything," Munch called back over his shoulder in a fatigued voice. He was going back to the station house and crashing for at least an hour, he was sure of that; an hour was the most he could afford with someone out there picking off cops.

"No problem," Melinda called out as she watched them go. She turned back to the body that lay face up on the slab. She carefully covered Detective Sawyer with the sheet again and walked away; she hoped that SVU would catch this guy before she saw another cop brought down that way.

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"Hey Chloe!" Molly Gibson giggled as she ran through the park "Try and catch me!"

"Molly," Chloe Price smiled as she chased the little girl "Slow down!" Chloe had once loved spending her Saturdays with her friends, simply gossiping about how much they hated their lives. It was amazing how much her life had changed in less than a year. She had become a foster parent and taken custody of Molly Gibson; the little girl who had touched her heart all those months ago and reminded her of a past that she wouldn't wish on any child. She had long since traded Saturdays with Caroline and Nicole for a day at the park near her building with Molly.

Molly ran down a hill to a small stream that ran through the park. She stumbled over something and landed face first.

"Molly!" Chloe called as she caught up with her. She picked the child up "Are you okay?" she asked, looking her over for any sign of injury. It was then that Chloe noticed what Molly had tripped over "Oh my God," she whispered as she clutched Molly close to her.

"Help me," the naked blonde in the creak bed whispered weakly.

Chloe pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911 as fast as her fingers would allow "It's gonna be okay," she reassured the woman as she knelt down beside her. The woman's eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed on the ground, emitting what was known as a death gasp, before falling silent.

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"Detective Dani Beck," Special Agent Jason Gideon said as he showed the crime scene photos to his team "The latest victim in a string of cop killings in Manhattan."

"Just how many victims are we talking about?" Agent Derek Morgan asked.

"Seven," Gideon responded simply.

"Why did they wait so long before calling us?" Dr. Spencer Reid asked, puzzled.

"The Manhattan Special Victims Unit is handling the case," Agent Aaron Hotchner began "They've been aided thus far by Dr. George Huang."

"He's a forensic psychologist," Reid began in his encyclopedic manner "He's been working almost exclusively with Manhattan SVU for about six years now."

"Dr. Huang," Hotch continued "Called me this morning. He requested our help in this investigation."

"There are over forty thousand female police officers in New York City," Gideon stated as he stood to his feet "Any one of them could be this man's next potential target." The BAU team nodded and rose from the conference table in near unison.


	2. Chapter 2: Interdepartmental Cooperation

**Lady Killer**

**Chapter 2: Interdepartmental… Cooperation?**

**A/N: I know that Agent Jennifer Jareau is often referred to as JJ on the show but if you have read "Trust Me" you can understand my unwillingness to use that particular nickname, so I will either refer to her as Agent Jareau or Jen if necessary.**

"You did what?" Elliot asked as he rubbed his eyes after three hours of fitful, nightmare addled sleep. He had come into the squad room to hear Cragen talking to the others about having called in the Behavioral Analysis Unit from the FBI. Elliot didn't like the idea.

"Elliot," Olivia rose from her chair and walked over to him "They found Dani this morning," she put a hand on his arm "She's dead."

Elliot was in shock. This guy kept his victims for three days. Dani had been dumped within twenty four hours of being abducted "He's escalating," he whispered as he surreptitiously snaked an arm protectively around his wife's waist.

"We can't handle this by ourselves," Huang stepped forward "The BAU can help us get inside this guy's head."

Elliot stole a sideways glance at Olivia. He sighed, knowing in his heart that this was not the time for petty turf wars. He walked forward and sat down at his desk "What do we do until these profilers get here?" he asked resignedly.

"Take a little time for yourselves," Cragen said to all assembled "Go home, get something to eat, change, shower and get back here by eleven."

The group disbanded and all went in their separate directions. Elliot and Olivia walked side by side to the locker room. For the past month, both had practically been living at the station house and kept more than one change of clothes in their lockers.

Elliot took off the shirt he was wearing and tossed it into a plastic bag that was already half full of dirty clothes "Where do you wanna grab breakfast?" he asked as he pulled on the clean shirt from his locker.

"I don't know," Olivia sighed as she too pulled on a fresh change of clothes "I'm not feeling that hungry."

"Liv," Elliot exhaled as he finished changing "You've got to take care of yourself."

Olivia sighed as she too finished changing and sank down onto one of the benches "I know," she admitted "It's just this case is getting to me."

Elliot sank down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders "Yeah," he agreed "Me too," the case got to him in ways that he would never admit to her. He pulled her close to him "But you still have to take care of yourself. Neither of us are helping any victims by letting ourselves starve to death and work until we're so tired we can barely move."

Olivia buried her face in his neck "Lately, I don't feel like I'm helping anyone being stuck behind a desk all day," she wasn't about to go against doctor's orders and put the life of her unborn child in danger but it didn't mean that desk duty wasn't frustrating.

"I know," Elliot soothed. The truth was that he did know; with Olivia behind a desk and him not having someone to watch his back in the field had made him feel damn near useless. He rubbed Olivia's shoulder softly "It'll all work out in the end," he told her as his other hand moved to her stomach and gently rubbed it beneath her shirt.

Olivia giggled and slapped his hand away "Cut it out," she smiled at him. She knew he was right; this was just a stopgap on the road of life. She stood to her feet "Hmm," she murmured "I'm thinking pancakes," she smiled.

"Sounds good to me," Elliot stood up beside her and the two of them walked out of the locker room together.

"Besides," Olivia said as they reached the doors to the outside of the precinct "Desk duty isn't nearly as bad as maternity leave will be," she laughed "I think I'd go stir crazy."

"Oh I don't know about that," Elliot teased as they walked down the street to the IHOP "There's this little thing called a baby that's going to keep both of us pretty busy." They both laughed.

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The two walked back into the station at quarter of eleven and were immediately aware of the new faces in the squad room. Elliot cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed "Captain, didn't you say eleven?" he asked awkwardly.

Cragen shrugged "They got here early," he said simply as he looked at the agents.

For the first few minutes, the squad room resembled a middle school dance. The detectives and Cragen on one side, staring silently at the agents, trying to size them up and agents on the other side watching the detectives and trying to do the same thing. Dr. Huang stood in the middle ruing the second that he had decided to bring these two groups of people together. Finally he stepped forward and cleared his throat "Everybody," he began, addressing the SVU squad "Allow me to introduce the agents from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit," he turned to the agents who seem a bit more relaxed now that someone had broken the cold atmosphere that had settled over the squad room. Huang pointed to each in turn "These are agents Gideon, Hotchner, Morgan, Prentiss, Jareau and Reid," he rushed through the names, feeling increasingly uncomfortable in the position of middle man.

Cragen stepped forward and shook hands with each of the agents "I'm Captain Cragen," he said, watching out of the corner of his eye as George visibly relaxed "These," Cragen indicated the group of detectives who stood behind him "Are Detectives Benson, Stabler, Munch and Tutuola."

There was another minute before Munch spoke "Now that the getting 'to know you' portion of this little gathering is over with. Can we get back to finding this guy?"

Several people cleared their throats before Agent Hotchner stepped forward and up to the evidence board where Dani Beck's picture had been added just that morning "Because of the level of sadism in the killings and the care with which he cleans up afterwards, we have classified this man as an organized killer."

The next hour and a half was filled with discussion of the BAU's theories about why this man chose cops as his victims. The SVU squad shot down plenty of theories and came up with a few of their own. It was a constant back and forth between two dedicated teams of people who in reality were on the same side but couldn't see the forest through the trees.

Finally, tasks were divided up. Elliot, Munch and Fin would go with Gideon and Hotch to take another look at the crime scenes, even though Elliot had insisted that there was nothing more that they could possibly learn that they hadn't already. Morgan and Prentiss were off to the morgue to see the bodies themselves and get the full story from Warner. Olivia was assigned the task of looking through files with Reid for anyone who had ties to all of the victims.

As the group disbanded, Olivia went to wish Elliot luck before he left "Guess you're gonna finally see some action," she smiled.

"Yeah," Elliot sighed "I don't like this," he whispered.

"I know," Olivia agreed "But think of it this way," she raised an eyebrow at him "You could have my job, babysitting little Mr. Genius over there."

Elliot laughed "How did that kid get to be in the FBI?" he asked no one in particular. Dr. Reid, as Agent Gideon had referred to him, looked like he would literally snap under pressure.

"I have no idea," Olivia shrugged. She looked around quickly to see that no one was staring in their direction before pressing a soft kiss to Elliot's lips "Be careful," she whispered.

"You too," Elliot told her, trying to keep a straight face "You wouldn't want to catch cooties."

Olivia laughed "Shhhh, what if he hears you?" she reprimanded.

"Okay," Elliot dropped his chin to his chest "I'll be good."

Olivia laughed and kissed him again "I love you," she whispered through a smile.

"I love you too," Elliot told her "I'll see you later." He turned and followed Munch and Fin to go meet up with the two BAU agents.

Captain Cragen had pulled Agent Gideon aside and the two were talking in hushed tones "Your reputation proceeds you," Cragen said, trying to be formal.

Gideon knew exactly what Cragen was referring to and simply nodded. Gideon knew that Cragen didn't want to take any chances with the lives of his detectives and to anyone who hadn't been there in Boston, it was easy to jump to conclusions. Gideon finally responded "As does yours Captain," Gideon was well aware that Cragen had pulled more than a few strings for his detectives over the years.

"Let me be perfectly clear," Cragen said in a low voice "If anything happens to one of my detectives, I will not hesitate to bring charges against you."

"I would expect nothing less," Gideon turned and followed Hotch and the detectives out of the squad room.

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"They're all cops and they're all women," Olivia sighed as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. She and Dr. Reid sat in an interview room. Files littered the table top from one end to another "That's the only connection that I can find," she slumped over the table in exhaustion.

"Not necessarily," Dr. Reid began in an all knowing sounding tone that made Olivia want to punch him "They were all detectives."

Olivia looked back down at the files "You're right," she murmured "How did I miss that?" she asked herself. She looked up "But how does that help us?"

"It's just another piece of the puzzle," Reid admitted "There's something else we're missing."

Olivia groaned and turned back to the papers that lay spread out in front of her. She stared at them as if the answer would simply jump out at her like one of those pictures that if you stop focusing, you see the real picture "Isn't this why they invented computers?" she asked "So we wouldn't have to do this, sifting through endless files," suddenly the baby started pummeling her insides and she doubled over in her chair for a moment.

"Detective Benson?" Reis asked concernedly "Is everything all right with the baby?"

"Yeah, he's just…" Olivia looked up "How did you know?" she asked, surprised.

"The way you were holding your left hand over your stomach in the squad room," Reid answered simply.

Olivia laughed lightly "I didn't know I was so easy to read, Reid," she laughed again. After a few moments the two of them turned back to the files before them "I just wish I knew what we were looking for," Olivia murmured.

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"The unsub hates these women," Gideon commented.

"We kind of figured that out already," Munch muttered. He didn't like these feds very much.

"By leaving them nude in a public place," Hotch began as he walked around the perimeter of the scene "It's a final act of humiliating them."

"How is this helping us?" Elliot asked. He just wanted to catch this guy before he struck again.

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Olivia slammed the file she was looking at closed "You in the mood for a late lunch," she asked Reid.

Reid was staring at the file in his hands with great intensity "There's got to be something we're missing," he murmured.

Olivia stood up and laid a hand on the young man's shoulder. She could tell that this kid was going to burn the candle at both ends until he had nothing left "Listen," she began "We aren't going to be any good to anyone if we're starving ourselves," she repeated Elliot's earlier words to her "Come on," she said, nudging him "I'll buy."

Reid nodded and set down the file "Just a quick lunch," he conceded. The two walked out of the interview room and saw Agent Jareau talking to Captain Cragen.

When Cragen saw them he waved them over "I think that you guys should see this," he indicated the nearby television on which a reporter for the midday news was speaking.

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"Didn't the woman who found her say that she was alive?" Prentiss asked; she knew that Detective Beck was dead but if the cause had been strangulation, she didn't see how the woman could have possibly managed to survive until she was found.

Melinda Warner pulled the sheet off of the body "She was," she answered simply "The guy crushed her wind pipe but apparently she wasn't dead yet when she was found."

"How is that possible," Morgan muttered "Unless…" it suddenly hit him "He kills them at the dump sight."

Prentiss caught on to Morgan's train of thought and she added "He got scared off when he heard the little girl calling to her foster mother."

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"This is just what we don't need," Cragen muttered. The news was running a story about the latest murdered female member of the NYPD. This was just the kind of thing that could make the population of Manhattan lose faith in the people who were supposed to be protecting them. If the NYPD couldn't protect their own, how could they be expected to keep the city safe?

Agent Jareau flipped her hair back "How have you kept this out of the media so far?" she questioned.

"We didn't," Olivia answered "They just never knew that all the victims were cops until now. We managed to get this far without releasing the identities to anyone other than the family."

"Lucky number seven," Cragen muttered under his breath. It was almost ironic that they had managed to get as far as this ass's seventh victim before the media managed to get the full story on who these women were.

"Could there be a leak?" Reid asked.

"Absolutely not," Cragen said resolutely. He trusted his people and new that they would never jeopardize an investigation by going to the media.

"I'm going to go over to the TV station and see what I can do about putting out this fire before it gets out of hand," Jareau said as she turned to leave.

"Good idea," Cragen agreed.

Olivia turned to Dr. Reid "You still up for lunch?" she asked.

"Sure," Reid forced a smile as he followed Olivia out of the precinct. As they walked to the café down the street from the station, neither of them noticed the man who watched them very carefully from across the street.

**A/N: DUN DUN DUN! What will happen next? I think we know that if poor Dr. Spencer Reid lets anything happen to Olivia, Elliot will snap the poor kid like a twig. Please review and I'll try to update soon.**


	3. Chapter 3: A Shred of Humanity

**Lady Killer**

**Chapter 3: A Shred of Humanity**

The two had sat down at the café and ordered before Olivia remembered something "I'll be right back," she told Reid as she stood up.

"What's wrong?" Reid asked. He wasn't quite sure he wanted to let her leave by herself.

"I left my prenatal vitamins in my locker back at the station," Olivia told him as she headed for the door. She had forgotten to take them this morning and she had nearly forgotten the day before.

"I'll go with you," Reid offered.

"No," Olivia smiled reassuringly "It'll just take a few minutes. You wait here," she already got the over protective act from her husband and on him it was endearing but from this kid, it was just annoying.

"You're sure?" Reid asked. He was more than ready to walk back to the station with her.

"Yes," Olivia was getting irritated with this guy and her tone showed it. She tried to calm herself and added "You stay here and wait for our food. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

"Okay," Reid murmured uncertainly as he watched her leave.

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Agent Jareau stood in front of the desk of the head of Adam Grayson, the TV station that had run the piece about the killer. She stood waiting for him to say something, anything to excuse what he had done.

"So what is the FBI doing investigating this case?" Grayson asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"How did you find out about the victims?" Jareau countered.

Grayson reached into the top drawer of his desk "An anonymous source," he explained as he withdrew a folded piece of paper.

Jareau took the note and read it aloud "These seven murders are connected. The police are lying to you. They can't protect their own people." She looked up "Who sent this?" she asked.

"It just showed up here one morning on my desk," Grayson told her "I asked my secretary and she said that a man had delivered it early that morning."

Jareau nodded "Where is your secretary now?" she asked as she pulled out her phone to call Gideon; it was possible that they had a witness who could identify the killer.

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Her mind was on so many different things as she walked back to the precinct. She couldn't stop thinking about all those women and how lonely it must have been to die the way that they did. She also couldn't stop thinking about her baby; she wondered if it was a boy or a girl. There was an entire week of waiting left before the sonogram that would give them that the answer to that question. She wanted to be surprised but at the same time she wanted to know the appropriate color to paint the nursery.

She smiled to herself as her little one kicked inside her again. She thought perhaps he was kicking her to say 'You had better not paint my room pink.' She didn't care if her baby was a boy or a girl as long as it was healthy but somehow her intuition told her that it was a boy.

At first she didn't hear the footsteps behind her and when she heard them, she tried to ignore them but they were persistent, keeping time with hers exactly. She was about to turn around to give Dr. Reid a piece of her mind about following her when she felt a hand clamp down over her mouth. Her first thought was for the baby and her hands wrapped around her abdomen as she attempted to struggle free without using them. She could have sworn that she saw one or two people on the other side of the street but they weren't looking in her direction.

The man dragged her into an alley where a white van was parked. He opened the back doors of the van and shoved her in. Before she knew it, he had blindfolded her. Her hands never moved from their place, protecting her child. She hated herself in that moment. In her mind she prayed that Elliot would forgive her for putting their baby in danger. She felt him remove her gun from its holster and strike her across the face with it. She inhaled sharply but didn't say a word.

The man was about to close the van doors when he finally noticed the way her hands protected her stomach "Shit," he muttered under his breath. She may not have been showing but there was no mistaking the protective gesture "Are you pregnant?" he hissed, bending down close to Olivia.

She refused to say anything. Behind the blindfold, tears were gathering in her eyes. I_'m so sorry,_ she kept repeating over and over in her mind. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to leave Elliot. But most of all, she didn't want to die because her death would mean the death of her baby. She remained silent as tears began to escape her eyes; she was terrified and hormonal and just begging God that her husband wouldn't blame her after she was gone.

"Are, you, pregnant?" the man asked again, this time grabbing her throat "Answer me damn it," he hissed, slamming her head against the wall of the van.

"Yes," she finally whispered, the tears evident in her voice "Please don't hurt my baby," she begged. She was begging, she had no other choice in her mind.

The man pulled her from the back of the van and dragged her a few feet to a lamp post. He took her handcuffs from her and cuffed her to it. He leaned down right beside her ear "Don't you dare say a word until I'm gone or you'll end up like the others."

Olivia was confused. It looked like he was letting her go but she wasn't sure and it didn't make sense. If this guy was the one they were looking for, it made no sense. Everything they knew about the killer pointed to a ruthless man. Still she didn't want to question it. She simply nodded.

The man took her cell phone from her pocket and scrolled through the phonebook. He memorized one of the numbers before getting into his van and speeding away. He hadn't expected that she would be pregnant. He hadn't expected that one of those bitches would actually turn out to be human. There was no way that he could have laid a hand on her after she had begged him not to hurt her baby. It reminded him… he couldn't think about that. He saw a payphone and pulled over. He got out and put some change into the phone.

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"We aren't going to find anything here that isn't in the police reports," Hotch finally concluded.

"We could've told you that," Fin muttered.

"We did tell them that," Munch added.

Elliot was angry "While we were wasting time here," he almost growled "This guy has probably grabbed another woman," he would have said more but his cell phone began to ring. "Stabler," he answered and soon after he had, he nearly collapsed on the ground.

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He turned down the alley and saw her standing there. She was shaking ever so slightly as she stood there. She leaned her head against the post that she was cuffed to. He laid a hand on her shoulder without telling her that it was him and she shrunk away "It's just me," he told her as he undid the blindfold and pulled out the keys to undo the handcuffs.

She turned and looked into the worried face of her husband "Oh God," she whispered as she collapsed into his arms "Elliot, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," he whispered as he held her "I'm here," he stroked her hair as the BAU agents began to examine the scene.

"I don't know what happened," she said as she buried her head in his shoulder "I just went numb. I just…"

Elliot didn't know what had happened that had made this man let his wife go but he thanked God that she was still with him. He held her as close as he possibly could without crushing her and walked with her to his car. When they were both sitting inside, he turned to her "You have to give a statement," he reminded her softly.

She nodded "Let's go back to the station," she whispered as she turned her gaze to her lap. She felt her child kick inside of her and a tear ran down her cheek as she smiled. For some reason that man had spared her child's life and at that moment, she didn't care what that reason was.

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Reid ran up to the other members of his team. He had waited for Olivia at the café for only ten minutes before he had known that something was wrong. He had left a twenty on the table and gone in search of her. He obviously hadn't looked in the right place. He had been two blocks away when he had gotten the call that they had found her exactly where the man had said she would be. He felt guilty that he hadn't insisted more fervently that he walk with her back to the precinct. He knew that he would never forgive himself.

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"Mr. Grayson," his secretary, Sophie Daniels, said as she poked her head into his office.

Grayson looked up "Yes Sophie, what is it?"

"Another note was just delivered to the station," she told him as she stepped inside and placed the folded piece of paper on his desk.

Grayson put on his glasses and unfolded the note "They'll let their own down. They'll come into your house late at night and murder your family. Don't trust them." He looked up at Sophie "Did you see the person who brought this?" he asked.

"No, Mr. Grayson," Sophie answered as she backed slowly out of the office.

Grayson looked at the business card that sat on the corner of his desk. He reached for his phone and dialed the number "Agent Jareau, this is Adam Grayson. You asked me to call if the killer tried to contact us again."

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They all stood in the squad room. FBI agents and detectives alike, all of them knowing that they couldn't afford not to trust each other and work together. Reid kept his distance from Elliot; he was unable to face the husband of the woman that he had failed so miserably.

The message that had been sent to the TV station was copied onto the evidence board; the actual letter was being analyzed at the crime lab. They all stood around the room, staring at the wording as if it would divulge some clue to this man's identity. All with the exception of Olivia, who had gone up to the crib to lie down; she was still a little shaken up from what had happened and wasn't going to take any chances.

"The hand writing was identical to the other note," Reid informed the group.

"But we aren't even sure that our guy sent the first note," Munch put in.

"It's likely that he would want to contact the media," Hotch began "He wants credit for what he's done. He wants the public to sympathize with him."

"Look at the wording," Reid stepped forward "In the second note he never refers to that he's talking about the police. He just says 'They'."

"Whoever he is," Gideon hypothesized "He seems to have a story to tell."

"Cops came into his home and killed his family?" Elliot thought out loud as he looked at the wording. Suddenly it clicked in his mind "We should look for ex-cons whose wives or girlfriends might have been wounded or killed when they were arrested."

"Pregnant wives," Reid added in a soft voice.

"That's why he let Olivia go," Munch murmured, remembering the statement that he had just taken from her only an hour ago.

"We'd better move fast," Hotch said to the group "From the wording in his latest note, he's becoming less rational by the second. We've got to get to him before he strikes again."

Cragen came out of his office "We're too late for that," he told the agents and detectives "Detective Alexandra Eames was just reported missing."


	4. Chapter 4: Ticking Clock

**Lady Killer**

**Chapter 4: Ticking Clock**

Robert Goren could count on one hand the people in his life that he would do anything for. His partner, Alexandra Eames, was one of the select few. It had all happened so fast. The two of them had been re-walking a crime scene in Central Park. Alex had gone in one direction to check out a hunch; the crime scene had been days old and Bobby hadn't thought that there would be anything to worry about until he had heard the muffled sounds of a struggle from behind a row of trees. He had gotten there just in time to see a van pulling away. On the ground at his feet lay Alex's cell phone and gun.

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Elliot pushed the door open quietly; if Olivia was asleep he didn't want to wake her. She was on the first cot, sitting bolt upright in the dim light of the room. He approached and sat on the edge of the bunk, pulling her gently towards him "Hey," he whispered "How are you feeling?"

She didn't answer at first. She was feeling so many things at that moment, many of them different types of fear. She was feeling the stress and thinking of the most random things. The sonogram was on Tuesday and after that there was thanksgiving to get ready for. Maureen, Kathleen, Dickie and Elizabeth would all be there and Olivia had this fear at the back of her mind that she would accidentally blow something up or burn something down. She wiped away a tear that started to spill over as she finally answered him "Stressed," she whispered.

He nodded in understanding. He knew there was so much more to that one little word than she was letting on "Guess what," he tried to sound upbeat.

"What?" she inquired, not sure she wanted to know.

"Cragen is insisting that you take two weeks of personal time," Elliot knew she wasn't going to be happy about this but he had to say that he agreed with the captain on this. She'd been through way too much in the last few days; she'd been pushing herself, working longer hours than the doctor had told her to while she sifted through endless papers, losing sleep so they could have a better chance of catching this guy and what had happened earlier that day had made this issue nonnegotiable.

Olivia groaned and was about to protest when the baby kicked her again as if to say 'Hey mommy, remember me?" so she simply nodded "I could probably use the vacation," she tried to sound cheerful.

"There is just one problem," he said almost teasingly; he wasn't sure how she would respond.

Olivia took a deep breath and braced herself for the worst "What is it?" she asked after a brief pause.

"You have to vacate the premises," he chuckled nervously "We can't have you taking up valuable cot space when the rest of us are working our asses off."

"You are an ass," she laughed. He had made her think that the news was so much worse than what it had turned out to be. As if she wasn't stressed enough, she didn't need him adding to it.

"No swearing," Elliot whispered placing a hand over her stomach "There are little ears in the room."

Olivia laughed "First of all," she began "You swore first so you're the bad influence here and second," she lifted her shirt to expose the tiny swelling that was their baby "I'm not even sure if he has ears yet."

"Or she," Elliot corrected, kissing her softly. He pulled away "Maureen's coming to pick you up and take you back home."

Olivia groaned "You told your daughter to baby sit me didn't you?"

"You know me so well," Elliot laughed as he stood up "Come on, she's gonna be here any minute."

Olivia sighed and leaned her head against her husband's shoulder "You're sure you guys can manage without me?" she asked, making one last ditch attempt to go against what her conscience was telling her; she couldn't stand to be so far from Elliot, wondering if he was all right or not.

"We won't be short handed," Elliot told her "Major Case just got involved."

Olivia raised an eyebrow at that. She wasn't surprised that the Major Case Squad had gotten involved but rather she was surprised that it had taken this long. "Why now?" she asked in astonishment.

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Alex Eames wasn't sure where she was; the first thing the man had done when he had grabbed her was to blindfold her and cuff her hands behind her back. The ride in the back of the van had been a long one, at least an hour, maybe an hour and a half. When they had stopped and the man had opened the doors of the van again, she had kicked him. From the sound of it, she had hit him square in the face. He went down but had recovered quickly.

He grabbed her and shoved her hard through an open door and down a flight of stairs. She lost her footing and landed at the bottom, scrambling to her feet and trying to run for it but the man wouldn't let her get the upper hand even for a moment again and she was thrown to the floor. He hit her over the head with something hard and she blacked out.

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Maureen Stabler stepped into the SVU squad room. She looked around and couldn't help but notice all the new faces. She wondered where her father and Olivia were. She had only been told a little bit of what had happened; she knew that her father didn't want to burden her with the horrific details.

"Can I help you?" A young man that Maureen had never seen before asked as he made his way towards her.

"I'm looking for my father," Maureen answered. This young man had to be only a few years older than she was and she had to admit that he was cute. "My name's Maureen Stabler," she introduced herself with one hand outstretched.

"Oh," Reid said nervously "I saw your dad a few minutes ago," Reid had to admit that Detective Stabler was nothing if not intimidating "He should be back soon," he murmured before turning away.

"Thanks," Maureen smiled warmly, noticing that he was still watching her out of the corner of his eye "By the way," she added "You never told me your name."

Reid cleared his throat "Spencer Reid," he answered quietly. He noticed Elliot and Olivia coming back into the squad room from upstairs and quickly put as much distance between himself and Maureen as possible.

Maureen watched as Reid snuck out of site behind Munch and another man that Maureen had never seen before. She sighed then turned to her father and Olivia "Hey guys," she smiled.

"Hey sweetie," Elliot embraced his oldest child "Make sure she eats something when you get home," he whispered "And don't let her over exert herself and…"

"Daddy," Maureen whispered agitatedly "I know, I know. You told me all of this before," she released her hold on her father and hugged Olivia "How are you doing?" she asked her step mom.

"I'm fine," Olivia answered and then added in a whisper "Please ignore your paranoid father, for all of our sakes."

"Hey," Elliot protested from where he stood "I heard that."

Olivia turned and fixed him with a knowing look "Yeah," she nodded "And I didn't here you giving last minute instructions to your daughter on how to watch me like a hawk?" she asked sarcastically.

Elliot threw his hands up in defeat "Okay," he wrapped his arms around his wife in one last goodbye hug before he had to get back to work "I can't help it," he whispered as he snuck a quick kiss "I'm worried."

"I know," Olivia said softly as she kissed him back "Me too."

"Come on you guys," Maureen shifted from foot to foot "I've got ice cream in the car and it's probably half melted by now."

Maureen had just said the magic words to get the attention of a pregnant woman and Olivia turned with a gleam in her eye "Ice cream?" she asked in an expectant tone that would have made Elliot laugh if he wasn't afraid that she would lay him out flat on his ass for doing so.

"Yeah," Maureen smiled "I thought we'd have a girl's night."

"Sounds like fun," Olivia smiled at her oldest stepchild as she turned to follow her out of the squad room. She turned back and pulled Elliot to her once more "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he told her "You guys have fun," as Olivia turned to leave again he called after her "And be careful."

"We will," Maureen called back as the two women's laughter faded down the hallway.

Elliot turned back to the ever growing group of people around the evidence board. Now it was time to get back to work. He noticed that Detective Robert Goren from Major Case had recently joined the group. Elliot felt for the man. Eames was, after all, Goren's partner. Elliot could empathize with the man, when he had gotten that call from the killer himself that day, telling him that Olivia was handcuffed to a lamp post, his blood had run cold. But it was far worse this time; there would be no phone call, no mercy for Detective Eames and no solos for Robert Goren. Elliot knew that they just had to find Alex before this sick bastard did anything to her.

The killer's behavior had become even more unpredictable though. Elliot knew that they had a limited amount of time before something happened. The clock was ticking.


	5. Chapter 5: The Reason

**Lady Killer**

**Chapter 5: The Reason**

**A/N: Okay so I wrote and posted a lot of things in my journey to complete this chapter. I hope that it turned out okay. It's kind of short but I think it's still good. Please review and let me know.**

"Jackson Daniels," Penelope Garcia told Morgan over the phone as she typed frantically on her computer.

"You've got to be kidding me," Morgan muttered.

"Nope," Garcia slyly even though she knew Morgan couldn't see her "That's his real name." She pulled up the full file on the screen "He was released from the hospital a little over a month ago."

"Just around the time the murders started," Morgan concluded quietly. "Why was he in the hospital?" he asked.

Garcia pulled up another file "He fell down a flight of stairs when the police came to arrest his girlfriend."

"What?" Morgan was confused.

"His girlfriend killed a man," Garcia told him "Daniels fell down the stairs trying to get to her when the cops busted down the door."

"Where's his girlfriend now?"

"Dead," Garcia said regretfully "She pulled a gun, saying that she wasn't going to go to jail. They had to shoot her," Garcia's voice dropped lower as she read off the screen "She was three and a half months pregnant."

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Elliot stood next to Goren outside the door of Jackson Daniels's home. Elliot knocked "Jackson Daniels!" he called "Open up!"

There was no answer at first. Elliot and Bobby looked at each other for a moment then Bobby noticed something. He bent down beside the front door to an open basement window. He silently motioned for Elliot to bend down as well. Inside they saw Eames lying on her side in the dim light. There was no sign of Daniels. The window was too small for either man to fit through. Elliot called the captain and informed him of the new development.

"Break down the door," Cragen's answer came over the phone "We'll deal with the consequences after you get her out of there."

As soon as Bobby heard that, he had busted down the door. Before Elliot could even think, Bobby had already found his way down into the basement. He knelt beside his partner, wrapping his coat around her "Eames," he whispered, brushing the hair out of her eyes.

"Bobby," she moaned weakly.

"Shhh," he soothed "Hold on, we're gonna get you out of here."

"Hold it right there," Elliot and Bobby turned to see Jackson Daniels standing in the shadows of the basement pointing a gun at all three detectives "No one's going anywhere."

Elliot stepped forward "Just drop the gun Jackson," he said with his hands raised in the air "It doesn't have to end like this."

"Yes it does," Jackson said angrily as his grip tightened on the gun "You killed her and now you all have to die."

"Killed who Jackson?" Elliot asked even though he knew the answer.

"Debby and our baby," Jackson nearly shouted "You monsters broke in here and murdered them," he took aim "Now you have to die."

The bullet hit Elliot in the arm and the force sent him flying backwards. He landed hard on the ground. Another shot rang out but this time it was Bobby who had fired. Jackson slumped against the wall, his gun falling to the floor.

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"I love happy endings," Olivia sniffled as she reached for the box of tissues that Maureen was offering her.

"Me too," Maureen smiled. The phone began to ring and Maureen went into the kitchen to answer it. She had a bad feeling about the call from the second she picked up "Hello?"

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"Where is my husband?" Olivia unloaded all her anger and frustration on one very frightened looking resident.

"I don't know," the young man said.

"What do you mean you don't know?" she was infuriated. Elliot had been shot. She had to see him, had to know that he was okay. She felt a pain in her stomach and nearly doubled over.

Maureen appeared "He's okay," she whispered as she helped Olivia to a seat in the waiting area "I just spoke to his doctor. He just got out of surgery. He'll be out of it for a while but we can go see him."

Olivia broke down in her stepdaughter's arms "Oh thank God," she whispered. It had all been too much. Maureen simply held Olivia as she cried.

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Bobby sat by Alex's bedside while she gave her statement. He held her hand the entire time and when it became too much for her to continue, he held her in his arms as they both cried. Later that night, the truth that they had both been avoiding for some time now came out. It was comforting to both of them to know that, no matter what happened, they loved each other.

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Olivia sat beside Elliot's bed and waited for him to regain consciousness. Maureen had gone on a coffee run and Olivia was jealous that she couldn't partake in the bitter drink; her eyelids were heavy and she could've really used the caffeine.

Elliot's eyes flickered open "Hey," he whispered groggily.

"Hi," Olivia smiled tearfully as she gripped his hand "You scared us," she whispered.

"I didn't mean to," he told her.

She laughed a little "I know," she reassured him; the anesthetic was making him a little loopy, she assumed.

Maureen came back then and smiled to herself. She stepped inside the room "Hey Dad," she said quietly.

"Hey kiddo," he smiled at his oldest "How you doing?"

"Fine," she replied. She looked at Olivia "I'm gonna go call Kathleen and let her know that Dad's okay."

Olivia nodded and Maureen left the room "You've got a good kid there," she told her husband.

"We have a good kid," Elliot corrected.

Olivia ran the back of her hand over her eyes in a preemptive strike against any tears that might decided to make their presence known "She's yours Elliot," she whispered.

"No," Elliot corrected softly "She's ours. Your as much her mother as Kathy is."

Olivia's preemptive strike did nothing to stop the tears that fell as she buried her face in the sheets beside Elliot, clutching his hand as tight as possible "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he whispered back, glad that he was on pain killers because of how tight of a grip Olivia had on his hand.

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Maureen came across the BAU team on her way outside of the hospital so that she could use her cell phone. Reid stepped forward and approached her "How's your father?" he asked her.

"He's going to be fine," she smiled softly at him. She took another step forward "I was just about to call my sisters and brother to tell them but after that, do you want to go grab a cup of hospital coffee?"

Reid looked back at the members of his team and got looks from both Hotch and Morgan that said 'go for it'. He smiled and turned back to Maureen "I'd love to."

**A/N: Okay, there's gonna be one more chapter after this to wrap things up for this story.**


	6. Chapter 6: To Be Thankful

**Lady Killer**

**Chapter 6: To Be Thankful**

"Do you have to leave so soon?" Maureen asked the following Monday morning.

"Yeah," Reid shrugged. He really didn't want to leave her but he had to; he still had work to do back at Quantico. "I'll email you," he leaned in and kissed her but pulled away quickly when he caught sight of Elliot out of the corner of his eye.

Maureen laughed "You know," she told him as she pulled him back to her, not afraid if her father saw them or not "You're gonna have to get over this fear of my father that you seem to have."

"I'll try," Reid promised as he turned and saw Elliot staring at him questioningly. Reid gulped softly "At least," he murmured "I'll try to try."

Olivia stepped forward and shook Reid's hand "It was good to meet you doctor Reid," she winked at Maureen before continuing "I have a feeling we'll be seeing you again soon," she smiled "Hopefully under much happier circumstances."

Reid nodded "I hope so too Detective Benson."

"Call me Olivia," she smiled brighter as she caught Elliot's uneasy shifting from one foot to the other out of the corner of her eye.

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"She's a young woman Elliot," Olivia smiled as she sank down in bed beside him that night "You're just gonna have to accept it.

"I don't wanna," he gutted out his bottom lip and Olivia broke out into a fit of laughter. "I'm serious," he said quickly "I don't think I'll ever get used to my little girl being a woman." He lifted up Olivia's shirt and addressed the small swell of her stomach "You aren't allowed to grow up kiddo."

Olivia pushed him away playfully, careful of his injured arm "Stop that," she giggled "You can't stop our child from growing up," she looked down at her stomach "No matter how much we both want to."

Elliot lay back against the pillows and pulled her down beside him "Tomorrow's the big day," he reminded her "We get to find out if it's a boy or a girl."

Olivia smiled softly against Elliot's chest as her eyes drifted closed "If I'm right, you get to take me out to dinner."

"And what if I'm right?" Elliot asked as he dropped a soft kiss to the top of her head.

"You get to take me out to dinner," Olivia answered as if he should have known the answer already.

Elliot chuckled softly "Good night Liv," he whispered "I love you."

"Love you too," she murmured sleepily.

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"There's your baby," the doctor smiled as she pointed to the screen.

Elliot and Olivia looked at their child and smiled in amazement. They turned to one another and shared a quick kiss "I love you," Olivia whispered, first to Elliot and then to the still growing person who was depicted on the screen.

"Do you want to know the sex of the baby?" the doctor asked.

The couple nodded in unison.

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"I told you," Olivia laughed as they walked to the car "I told you I knew it was a boy."

Elliot laughed and kissed her briefly before unlocking the car. "That'll teach me to distrust mother's intuition," he said as he slid in to the driver's seat.

"Haven't you figured it out yet Elliot?" Olivia asked playfully "I'm always right."

Elliot smiled at his wife in the rearview mirror. He tried not to think about how close he had come to losing both her and the child she was carrying. He knew exactly what he was most thankful for this year.

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Olivia rolled over in bed Thursday and groaned. She caught a glimpse of the alarm clock. The three quarter inch high red numbers made her groan even more. She had been worried about thanksgiving forever and now it looked like her family had allowed her to sleep in. She got up and threw on the nearest thing before rushing downstairs. She had to put the turkey in and start cutting the apples for the pie and… there was just so much to do and now there just wasn't enough time.

She ran into the kitchen to see it bustling with activity. When the entire clan noticed her presence they smiled. Each child hugged her in turn "Happy thanksgiving," Maureen, Kathleen, Dickie and Elizabeth all said warmly.

"What's going on here?" she asked, confused but still happy.

"I kind of let it slip that you were worried about thanksgiving dinner," Elliot admitted sheepishly from his place by the stove.

"So we all decided to help out," Elizabeth smiled up at her step mother.

Olivia felt the tears come to her eyes and she hugged each of the children again "Thank you," she whispered. She hadn't known just how much she had been worrying about thanksgiving until the worry had been lifted from her.

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"To family," Elliot said, lifting his glass of water. The toast was repeated around the table before they all dug in.

"Have you guys thought of a name for the baby?" Kathleen asked as she swallowed her first bite of mashed potatoes.

"Not yet," Olivia answered "But we have plenty of time to think of one."

"How about Spencer," Maureen suggested and smiled triumphantly when she noticed her father nearly spit out the sip of water that he had just taken.

"Eww," Dickie and Elizabeth said in unison.

"There's no way that they're gonna name the baby after your freaky boy genius boyfriend," Kathleen told her older sister.

"Wait a minute," Elliot spoke up "Since when is Spencer Reid your boyfriend?"

Maureen blushed. "Officially?" she asked as she buried her face in her napkin.

Olivia reached for Elliot's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze "She's a grown woman," she whispered the reminder patiently.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it," Elliot whispered back.

**THE END**


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